Constellation of the Month: Vulpecula (the Fox)

 

Last Friday's "quote" article on this blog featured one by philosopher Alan Watts, who claimed that we don't have a problem with how constellations are arranged...I had to object.  Above is a prime example of what I mean. Most of the 88 officially recognized constellations...star patterns representing different regions on the celestial map...are insignificant and faint, chiefly devised by two astronomers: Hevelius and Lacaille.  Hevelius is responsible for the above abomination, one barely-fourth magnitude star and a background of faint stars with one Messier deep-sky object, a planetary nebula called M27.  The other dots on the above map are just background stars too dim for the naked eye to make out. Alpha Vulpeculae, commonly known as Anser (goose in German), has an appropriate name: Hevelius dubbed it that to represent the goose that the fox allegedly was holding in its mouth...question is, where is the fox?  I have never discerned Vulpecula in the night sky...it is situated just south of prominent Cygnus in the Milky Way and just north of Delphinus and Sagitta.  The latter two are also a bit small in my opinion to be proper constellations...what they should have done was to combine Vulpecula, Sagitta, Delphinus, and nearby Equuleus to form a separate constellation, connect the dots and come up with something more recognizable.  But I'm left with what is already out there...Anser, by the way, is a red giant nearly 300 light years from us.  Next month I'll try to dig up a more significant constellation to discuss for October...

Constellation of the Month: Corona Borealis

 

Corona Borealis, although a small constellation, is easy to spot in the June evening sky at northern temperate latitudes...if the skies are clear, that is.  It's situated between Boötes to its west (left) and Hercules to its right (east), with the rough u-shaped crown studded with stars...a very easy pattern to make out.   Easily the brightest star in Corona Borealis is Alphecca (also called Gemma), a binary system about 75 light years from us.  The simplest way to find Corona Borealis in the sky is to first find Arcturus, easily the brightest star in this part of the night sky and go a little up (north) and to the left (east) from it.  Corona Borealis is, in English, the Northern Crown, and it is fun to see as it passes directly overhead: maybe an hour or two before or after it hits the zenith might be the preferred observation time to avoid straining your neck! Now we're officially entering the summertime, and if you can stand the mosquitos, enjoy clear skies and are free of obstructing streetlights, then get hold of a star map and see how many summer constellations you can recognize...Corona Borealis should be one of the more obvious ones to find.  

Next month: another constellation...

Constellation of the Month: Crux (the Southern Cross)

Crux is a striking little constellation in the celestial southern hemisphere...if you're located in a southern-enough latitude to be able to see it, that is.  I have lived most of my live in Florida, which if you happen to be in the Keys or southern Dade County is just far enough south to see Crux barely scrape the southern horizon at its apex.  Perhaps from my old house where I grew up at 26 degrees North latitude, I might have been able to see it were it not for the trees and city lights obstructing my view.  No, instead it wouldn't be until 2 AM on our cruise ship in February 2020 when it was near the Virgin Islands that I (and Melissa) saw it for our first time looking out at the beautiful seas over the rails...pretty romantic, right?  Yet I could accurately draw this constellation and its position in the sky ever since 1964, when I was first introduced to it at seven years age. The four brightest stars, two of them first-magnitude, can form either a cross if you connect just the opposite ones, or a rough diamond if you connect the adjacent ones...the former pattern is what stuck through the ages. The Coal Sack Nebula occupies a large part of Crux, along with parts of adjacent Centaurus and Musca...it's reported to be a very visible "dark" patch in the already dark sky, if you can wrap your head around that.  Anyway, someday I'd like to be south enough on a clear night to be able to clearly make out Crux...along with the many other southern celestial constellations I've known of for decades. I call Crux my "constellation of the month" for this May because it is during this month that it crosses the Meridian during the mid-evening hours...even though my only time seeing it was that February in the early morning hours. Next month I'll pick another constellation to discuss...